Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Questions to Ask When Shopping for Call Center Scheduling Software
A recent post on call center scheduling solutions provider Monet Software's new blog includes a list of questions that will be helpful to companies shopping for a workforce management solution for a small to medium sized call center.
The questions are neatly broken down into categories and are designed to help companies choose the "right" call center scheduling solution that will best meet their needs.
Two of the categories, "time and resources to implement" and "total cost of using the solution," are particularly important because they make managers realize which is more cost effective -- deploying an on-premises call center scheduling system of using a hosted system.
The "time and resources to implement" category, for example, asks "How long does it take to implement the solution from start to finish? How is it deployed? Do I need to buy and implement hardware or can I just use it over the web? What resources (money, people, etc.) do I need to implement the solution?"
These questions will help prospective buyers realize that hosted WFM solutions are faster, simpler and less expensive to deploy than on-premises systems because, well, they're hosted. With the hosted or cloud-based model of software delivery, there is no need to make an up-front investment in new hardware or expensive software licenses. Instead, companies can simply lease the software on a subscription or "pay-as-you-go" basis.
This makes trying out a call center scheduling solution such as Monet WFM Live simple and easy - all you really need are the computers and a high speed Internet connection. Furthermore there is much less risk involved - if a company decides it doesn't like the software feature set or it won't meet its needs, the service can be simply shut off, and there's no money wasted on hardware.
The "total cost of using the solution" category takes this a step further and asks: "What are the ongoing costs such as subscription, maintenance, support, upgrade fees? Are there any 'hidden' costs you should account for? (IT resources, integration costs, licenses, upgrade costs, etc.)"
These questions help drive home the point that hosted solutions also help companies reduce their ongoing maintenance costs. Because Monet WFM Live is delivered as a managed service, that means Monet Software takes on responsibility for application performance, including maintenance and troubleshooting of hardware and network when performance degrades. This, in turn, significantly reduces the strain on internal IT departments.
What's more, the hosted model means internal IT departments needn't concern themselves with software patches and upgrades, which are delivered automatically as part of the service. That means organizations are always using the latest and most up-to-date version of the software, with the very latest features and functionality.
In addition, Monet WFM Live offers out of the box integration with the leading ACDs, making integration with other systems fast, simple and a lot less expensive.
Beyond the deployment considerations, making the switch from spreadsheets to hosted call center scheduling software is practically a no-brainer: With Monet WFM Live organizations can vastly improve their call center operations, making them more efficient, improving agent productivity and boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty. This solution offers a rapid return on investment that can often be realized within weeks of deployment.
To learn more about the features and capabilities of Monet WFM Live, click here.
To read the recent blog post and get the full list of questions, click here.
Patrick Barnard is a senior Web editor for TMCnet, covering call and contact center technologies. He also compiles and regularly contributes to TMCnet e-Newsletters in the areas of robotics, IT, M2M, OCS and customer interaction solutions. To read more of Patrick's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Patrick Barnard